Is it an Ear Infection??

So we're nearly certain Tim's been teething for a while now but today he's just been cranky and he was refusing to eat even though he was hungry. We tried orajel and it didn't seem to make a difference. Because he was holding his hand to his cheek more than the front of his mouth I went and got a VERY WARM wet washcloth and put it against his cheek, instant silence and now he's eating.

Is it an ear infection? And if so is the washcloth good enough treatment for now?

So we're nearly certain Tim's been teething for a while now but today he's just been cranky and he was refusing to eat even though he was hungry. We tried orajel and it didn't seem to make a difference. Because he was holding his hand to his cheek more than the front of his mouth I went and got a VERY WARM wet washcloth and put it against his cheek, instant silence and now he's eating.

Is it an ear infection? And if so is the washcloth good enough treatment for now?

Hey there Mommy! I'm sorry your LO is feeling yucky, my kids had tons of ear infections when they were little and I finally got fed up with rushing them to the doc for antibiotics every time.

If he has a fever, it's probably an ear infection. If he doesn't have a fever and is just cranky and not eating well, it's probably teething. That is kind of how I discriminated between the two.

Ear infection: Warm washcloth, great idea! If he gets really bad you can pick up some OTC homeopathic eardrops...Hylands makes a great one. You only want to use these if his eardrum is not ruptured...he will have fluid leaking out of his ear if it has ruptured. Another great home remedy is garlic oil. You can buy the liquid gel capsules, poke the end with a needle and put a few drops in each ear a few times a day. Ear infection....GONE!! This works like magic, I am telling you what!

Teething: Once again, I swear by the Hylands brand teething tablets and teething gel...my kids hated loathed and despised orajel and it only seemed to work for about 15 minutes at a time...I had two kids teething at once so teething relief was very important to me. Hylands Homeopathic brand, look into it you will thank yourself later!

Oh, and with an ear infection my rule of thumb was basically if they didn't improve or the fever lasted for more than three days, I called the doc. I hope your little guy gets better soon!

Hey there Mommy! I'm sorry your LO is feeling yucky, my kids had tons of ear infections when they were little and I finally got fed up with rushing them to the doc for antibiotics every time.

If he has a fever, it's probably an ear infection. If he doesn't have a fever and is just cranky and not eating well, it's probably teething. That is kind of how I discriminated between the two.

Ear infection: Warm washcloth, great idea! If he gets really bad you can pick up some OTC homeopathic eardrops...Hylands makes a great one. You only want to use these if his eardrum is not ruptured...he will have fluid leaking out of his ear if it has ruptured. Another great home remedy is garlic oil. You can buy the liquid gel capsules, poke the end with a needle and put a few drops in each ear a few times a day. Ear infection....GONE!! This works like magic, I am telling you what!

Teething: Once again, I swear by the Hylands brand teething tablets and teething gel...my kids hated loathed and despised orajel and it only seemed to work for about 15 minutes at a time...I had two kids teething at once so teething relief was very important to me. Hylands Homeopathic brand, look into it you will thank yourself later!

Oh, and with an ear infection my rule of thumb was basically if they didn't improve or the fever lasted for more than three days, I called the doc. I hope your little guy gets better soon!

I take Caeden to the doctor before treating him for things just to make sure I'm treating the right thing. She prescribes antibiotics, I ignore it and treat it how I want to. At some point I imagine I'll let her know what I'm doing, but at this point it's easier just to do what I please without telling her haha :) So far everything I've done has worked; we go back for a recheck and he's fine.

I just don't want to be treating something that's not there, or not treating something that is, and since I have good insurance it's just as easy to take him to the pedi and make sure I'm treating the right thing. (Plus, I have a real terror of pneumonia. So if he's congested or wheezing, we go. Period. With asthma all my life and my mom almost died from pneumonia when I was three, but I managed to roll her off the bed so she wasn't lying flat and could breathe... I'm very very careful. I want to know exactly what's going on, even if I use alternative methods of treatment.)

I take Caeden to the doctor before treating him for things just to make sure I'm treating the right thing. She prescribes antibiotics, I ignore it and treat it how I want to. At some point I imagine I'll let her know what I'm doing, but at this point it's easier just to do what I please without telling her haha :) So far everything I've done has worked; we go back for a recheck and he's fine.

I just don't want to be treating something that's not there, or not treating something that is, and since I have good insurance it's just as easy to take him to the pedi and make sure I'm treating the right thing. (Plus, I have a real terror of pneumonia. So if he's congested or wheezing, we go. Period. With asthma all my life and my mom almost died from pneumonia when I was three, but I managed to roll her off the bed so she wasn't lying flat and could breathe... I'm very very careful. I want to know exactly what's going on, even if I use alternative methods of treatment.)

I can't use Hylands, or at least I don't dare try. The inactive ingredient is Lactose, and he's allergic to milk. I can't even eat anything with TRACES of milk in it so chancing giving something directly to him isn't going to happen.

I'm probably going to take garlic directly as I know it has antibiotic effects taken internally and I figure that'll transfer to him at least a bit. That way if it is an ear infection he's getting them and if not no harm done. :) I'll have to check for a fever a bit later, he's finally sleeping so I'm not touching him. ;)

I can't use Hylands, or at least I don't dare try. The inactive ingredient is Lactose, and he's allergic to milk. I can't even eat anything with TRACES of milk in it so chancing giving something directly to him isn't going to happen.

I'm probably going to take garlic directly as I know it has antibiotic effects taken internally and I figure that'll transfer to him at least a bit. That way if it is an ear infection he's getting them and if not no harm done. :) I'll have to check for a fever a bit later, he's finally sleeping so I'm not touching him. ;)

I'd take him to the doc and find out if it's an ear infection. That said, I second the garlic oil for ear infections!! I got that from the ladies on here and it's WONDERFUL. I took a strong garlic essential oil, mixed two drops with an ounce of olive oil (it smells horrible, but didn't seem to bug Caeden) and warmed it a bit (inside a baggie in a cup of warm water) and put two drops in each ear. He was fine the next day.

Teething: If you can get it, a liquorice stick is fantastic. I don't mean the candy, I mean the wood. Makes Caeden a happy boy. I haven't found any problems with them (so ladies let me know if you know of any!) but he loves them when his gums are sore.

I'd take him to the doc and find out if it's an ear infection. That said, I second the garlic oil for ear infections!! I got that from the ladies on here and it's WONDERFUL. I took a strong garlic essential oil, mixed two drops with an ounce of olive oil (it smells horrible, but didn't seem to bug Caeden) and warmed it a bit (inside a baggie in a cup of warm water) and put two drops in each ear. He was fine the next day.

Teething: If you can get it, a liquorice stick is fantastic. I don't mean the candy, I mean the wood. Makes Caeden a happy boy. I haven't found any problems with them (so ladies let me know if you know of any!) but he loves them when his gums are sore.

Tim does have a well child visit scheduled for Monday so I guess if he's still cranky we'll likely find out then what the issue is. His pedi is very cool so I expect real answers from her, not the standard "He CAN'T be teething yet" just because of age that I got with Darrion.

Another reason why I'd like to avoid them. ;)

Tim does have a well child visit scheduled for Monday so I guess if he's still cranky we'll likely find out then what the issue is. His pedi is very cool so I expect real answers from her, not the standard "He CAN'T be teething yet" just because of age that I got with Darrion.

I don't want to take him to the Dr for an ear infection because all they can do is prescribe antibiotics. I won't give him antibiotics for an ear infection unless it's REALLY bad. I want to avoid antibiotics in general as long as possible as my older boy is allergic to Penicillin.

I don't want to take him to the Dr for an ear infection because all they can do is prescribe antibiotics. I won't give him antibiotics for an ear infection unless it's REALLY bad. I want to avoid antibiotics in general as long as possible as my older boy is allergic to Penicillin.

Here is the response I got from that mommy (yes I know Tim is 2 months not one): Hyland's does make a homeopathic remedy as well as an ear oil for earache. Chiropractic care is also recommended for ear infections. However, I've also heard that for a child under the age of one, you need to be very careful when it comes to ear infections and forgoing antibiotics. Since this is a one month old, I'd certainly talk to the baby's doctor about all of the options--antibiotics might be useful and necessary.

Here is the response I got from that mommy (yes I know Tim is 2 months not one): Hyland's does make a homeopathic remedy as well as an ear oil for earache. Chiropractic care is also recommended for ear infections. However, I've also heard that for a child under the age of one, you need to be very careful when it comes to ear infections and forgoing antibiotics. Since this is a one month old, I'd certainly talk to the baby's doctor about all of the options--antibiotics might be useful and necessary.

I have an essential oil you could use but you live too far away for me to run it to you like a cup of sugar =( (Family isnt THAT bad is it?) I am asking one of my natural mommies here in CO springs who might know. One thing I thought to mention that I read. If he gets ear infections often take him to a chiropractor I read a story in Mothering Magazine (I think) and her baby got chronic ear infections and they took him to a chiropractor and the alignment of his neck had caused fluid to get stuck in a certain place causing the infections. If I learn a home remedy I will tell you..

I have an essential oil you could use but you live too far away for me to run it to you like a cup of sugar =( (Family isnt THAT bad is it?) I am asking one of my natural mommies here in CO springs who might know. One thing I thought to mention that I read. If he gets ear infections often take him to a chiropractor I read a story in Mothering Magazine (I think) and her baby got chronic ear infections and they took him to a chiropractor and the alignment of his neck had caused fluid to get stuck in a certain place causing the infections. If I learn a home remedy I will tell you..

My Chiro treats infants for free so he's had a few adjustments already. I'll have to take him with me tonight and see if his alignment is off again. He's sleeping now all cuddled up on Mommy and his wash cloth.

My Chiro treats infants for free so he's had a few adjustments already. I'll have to take him with me tonight and see if his alignment is off again. He's sleeping now all cuddled up on Mommy and his wash cloth.

That's a bummer about the Hylands, I'm sorry! I second the motion for not wanting antibiotics though. My husband and I both have HORRIBLE allergic reactions to penicillin and once the doc (I go to a group, so I don't always get the same ones...some are real idiots) suggested that we 'try it out' before 'ruling it out' on our kids. Basically, if the kids are never given it we will never know 'for sure' they are allergic. Yeah right, I really want to risk that on an eight month old baby you stupid--head!

That's a bummer about the Hylands, I'm sorry! I second the motion for not wanting antibiotics though. My husband and I both have HORRIBLE allergic reactions to penicillin and once the doc (I go to a group, so I don't always get the same ones...some are real idiots) suggested that we 'try it out' before 'ruling it out' on our kids. Basically, if the kids are never given it we will never know 'for sure' they are allergic. Yeah right, I really want to risk that on an eight month old baby you stupid--head!

It's partially covered by my insurance and I've set up a payment plan for the rest. It's not easy to cover it but my Darrion's neck was DISGUSTINGLY out of allingment when they did the free consult so I agreed we needed help.

It's partially covered by my insurance and I've set up a payment plan for the rest. It's not easy to cover it but my Darrion's neck was DISGUSTINGLY out of allingment when they did the free consult so I agreed we needed help.

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